Singapore’s Population Explosion, 6.9 million!

The nation of Singapore was founded by the British as a trading colony in 1819. Singapore is one of the world’s most prosperous nations with strong trading links and a higher GDP comparable to those of the Western European countries (www.cia.gov). The country is home to a population of about 5.4 million inhabitants as per the official 2013 estimates.

Singapore is a nation of enormous population diversity, according to (www.cia.gov), the nation’s leading ethnic groups constitute 76.8% Chinese, 13.9% Malay and 7.9% Indian population according to census done in the year 2000. Main languages are Mandarin, English, and Malay among other Chinese dialects.

Columnist William Pesek (2013), in support for population growth in Singapore, asserts that the human-pyramid system works through either births or immigration, boosts demand for goods and services, increases borrowing, boosts tax revenue, adding to the nations corporate profits.

Despite all the hullabaloo concerning Singapore’s overreaching population levels Straits Times asserts, in an interview with Professor Kalyani Mehta, that ideally, the population should be around 5.5 million people. This number is slightly higher than the current 5.3 million people, so as to allow room for workers in the specialized fields such as elder care, where the country has a mark-able shortage.

However, Pesek (2013), believes that the era of easy growth is over, and that Singapore, just like Japan and South Korea, must remodel their population growth trajectory. The dangers of rapid population growth according to Professor Gopinath Menon, is evident in the weighted infrastructural strain.

The strain makes it critically difficult for the current transportation system to cope with six million people, as MRT trains are currently bursting at the seams during rush hour. Menon believes that some deterioration in the quality of living can be anticipated if the current population growth continues to get out of hand.

The debate over Singapore’s population growth is healthy for the nations technocrats and ruling bureaucrats, so that they can find lasting solutions for future problems. In agreement with professor Mehta, Singapore needs to look at its ageing population as an asset and train its own nationals for jobs that require immigrant labor in-order to curb the growth of the immigrant population from getting out of hand.